I Dreamt a Dream Tonight
by chocolatequeen
Summary: Shakespeare meets Alias S/V pairing
1. Default Chapter

AN: Last night I was pondering why I'm drawn to shows with a star-crossed lovers scenario. As I was listing them out, I realized I had to add the original, Romeo and Juliet, to my list. Then I realized that there are a lot of similarities between Alias and R&J, and that as a literature student Sydney would be sure to realize this. Thus, the story.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Alias and I'm not a dead Englishman name William Shakespeare, so neither do I own Romeo and Juliet.  
  
  
  
Preface  
  
Romeo: I dreamt a dream last night.  
  
************************************  
  
Sydney sat on a crate, swinging her legs distractedly as Vaughn explained her counter mission. "So that's it, you replace the original with the SD-6 copy, give them the CIA copy and give us the real thing," he concluded. "Any questions?" He looked at her for a moment, waiting for her to confirm she understood, but she looked like she hadn't heard a word he'd said. "Sydney? Hey Sydney, are you in there?"  
  
Finally, his questions broke through her thoughts and she looked up at him with a weak smile. "I'm sorry, my mind is on this assignment and it's been going a mile a minute."  
  
"Sydney, I just explained your assignment and you weren't listening to a word I said. Do you want to tell me what's really going on?" he asked with some concern.  
  
"No, not this assignment… one for school. It's… never mind, what was my counter mission again?" she asked, trying to change the subject.  
  
"What's on your mind Sydney?" he asked quietly.  
  
"Do I really want to go into this with him?" she wondered. "After all, it might be a little… embarrassing. But that look on his face—he won't give up now that he knows something's bothering me. Just once I wish we could be like real people…"  
  
Out loud she said, "It's a little hard to explain, so bear with me. Last week one of my profs asked us to pick a piece that we'd read before and try to see it in a new light. I thought it would be pretty easy, I'd just pick something I hadn't read since before I joined SD-6. My life has changed so much since then that surely my perceptions would have as well.  
  
"So I picked Romeo and Juliet. I haven't picked it up since my freshmen year of college, and I was really getting into Shakespeare's story of star- crossed lovers." She paused for a moment when she saw confusion gradually change to comprehension in his eyes. "Anyway, I guess I got a little too into it, because last night I had this crazy dream…"  
  
"What kind of dream?" he questioned, even though he thought he already knew the answer.  
  
"It started out as Romeo and Juliet, but then about midway through the fifth scene, it changed… to us. Do you ever think about that? How in so many ways we're like them? Children of warring families, separated by identity but drawn together by purpose?"  
  
"Sydney…"  
  
"I know, I know… but even if we're not lovers Vaughn we sure as hell are star-crossed! You can't buy me a Christmas present without the CIA thinking you're too emotionally attached, every time we meet it increases the danger of getting caught… and yet we do it again, even at times when it isn't necessary for the good of the world. Do you think that if Romeo and Juliet lived today, he'd be calling her and leaving messages for Joey's Pizza? Probably, he sure couldn't take the risk that her family would find out about him. Tell me I'm not the only one seeing this, that I'm not going crazy," she pleaded as she looked into his eyes.  
  
"You know I can't tell you that Sydney," he said softly even as his eyes betrayed him.  
  
Seeing the emotion there, Sydney knew that he understood everything she said and everything that she had left unsaid. "Well then," she said briskly, "what was my counter mission again?" And with that, the matter was closed.  
  
  
  
AN: This is just part one, there are at least 2 more parts coming, depending on how it works out and how much feedback I get. 


	2. Dreamers often lie...

Disclaimer: same as in part one.  
  
AN: This part is all in Vaughn's POV  
  
  
  
Preface  
  
Romeo: I dreamt a dream last night.  
  
Mercutio: And so did I.  
  
Romeo: Well, what was yours?  
  
Mercutio: That dreamers often lie.  
  
***********************************  
  
After watching her walk away, I sank down onto one of the crates and shoved my hands into my hair. How much longer can we go on pretending that we're not what we really are and that we are what we aren't? She's right, we are star-crossed. Hell, if I'm completely honest with myself I can admit we're star-crossed lovers.  
  
But why did she have to say it? Life was so much easier when we both pretended that we didn't feel anything, when we acted like a call from Joey's Pizza wasn't the highlight of our week. Instead of just feeling, we know. And knowing makes life infinitely harder.  
  
So now I'm sitting in my living room, trying to figure out how to pretend that this afternoon never happened. Right now I've almost convinced myself that what she thought her dream was saying wasn't what it was really saying. Or maybe she changed parts of her dream to see how I would react. Of course I know that Sydney wouldn't do that, honesty is too important for her to lie about something so petty. But it makes me feel better to believe it, so I do for a few short hours.  
  
That's it, she did have a dream about her school assignment but it didn't really have anything to do with us. She just added that in… it didn't really happen. In fact, I'm so comfortable with this conclusion that I settle back and flip the television on.  
  
I can't believe this. I was just channel surfing, looking for something that caught my eye… and I came across Romeo and Juliet. The old version, not the Leonardo di Caprio version. I quickly changed the channel, because I knew that if I sat there and watched it, I would once again realize that she was right. And that just can't be possible.  
  
Sighing in defeat, I turn the television off and go to bed. At least for a few hours, I'll be able to sleep and not think about Sydney or Shakespeare or star-crossed lovers. For a few unconscious hours, I can just be. 


	3. While they do dream things true

AN: I've debated with actually writing the dream sequences, but I decided against it, primarily because the images have a dream like quality even in my mind and I can't hold onto them long enough to write them down.  
  
Disclaimer: We all know who owns it and we all know it isn't me.  
  
  
  
Preface:  
  
Romeo: I dreamt a dream last night.  
  
Mercutio: And so did I.  
  
Romeo: Well, what was yours?  
  
Mercutio: That dreamers often lie.  
  
Romeo: In bed asleep, while they do dream things true.  
  
*******************************  
  
Dawn the next morning  
  
With a gasp, Vaughn awoke from the dream he been in, Sydney's last words ringing in his ears. He'd just broken into SD-6 to save her from Cole, and she said, "How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore? The orchard walls are high and hard to climb, and the place death, considering who thou art, if any of my kinsman find thee here." (II ii 63-65)  
  
"This can't be happening," he muttered to himself. "I did not just have a dream about Romeo and Juliet and my relationship with Sydney. It was all in my mind… it was all a… a dream." He sighed, realizing yet another truth found in Shakespeare's work. While asleep, dreams do tell the truth.  
  
"So what do I do about it? I know I ought to just pretend it didn't happen and never think about it again. I definitely shouldn't tell Sydney. Can you imagine what Haladki would say if he got wind of that? "Hey Devlin, just thought you should know that Vaughn told Bristow he thought she was the Juliet to his Romeo. Don't you think it's time to pull him off the case?"  
  
But on the other hand, he was tired of having to hide his feelings completely. He knew that even if they talked about there feelings, they couldn't do anything about them, but for once it would be nice to have things out in the open instead of hidden away in some secret part of his life, pretending that they didn't exist. "Besides, she took a risk herself in telling me, I can have the courage to open up to her as well."  
  
  
  
Sorry this part is so short… hopefully I'll have the next part out by tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for the feedback… I'd love more if you have it! 


	4. A Waking Dream

AN: Well, this is going pretty well so far. Thank you for the feedback. This should be the last part.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own it, but if I did I could think of some interesting things for Vaughn to do.  
  
  
  
The same day, in the warehouse  
  
He heard a car door shut, followed by the familiar grating sound of the warehouse door sliding open. He looked up just when she appeared around the corner. "Mission accomplished," she said with a smile and held something out for him. "Here's the real thing, Sloane is in his office admiring your fake."  
  
"Thanks," he said with a preoccupied smile.  
  
"Hey, is something up?" she asked. "You seem a little out of it."  
  
"Yeah I guess you could say that. Why don't you have a seat Sydney, we need to talk." he said seriously.  
  
"Is this about what I told you yesterday Vaughn? Because we really don't need to talk about it anymore, I understand…"  
  
"No, you don't understand Sydney," he cut her off. Shocked, she looked at him waiting for him to continue. "You don't understand because last night I had the strangest dream…" He let his voice trail off, hoping that she would follow his train of thought.  
  
"You had a dream?" she asked. Seeing his nod, she continued slowly. "About us?" Another nod, another guess, spoken even more slowly. "And Romeo and Juliet?"  
  
"Yes, Sydney," he replied softly.  
  
"Tell me about your dream," she requested.  
  
"I really only remember two things. One was a scene of yet another time when I sent you out on a mission, and I started quoting Juliet's speech about how as you leave, it's as though I'm picturing you dead. It's true, every time you leave here I wonder if I'll see you again or if this whole crazy thing is going to fall down around us."  
  
"And the other part you remember?"  
  
"I was reliving the day Cole took over SD-6. This time when I came in after you, you looked at me and asked me how I'd gotten there and why, considering how hard it was to get in and how dangerous it was for me to be caught there."  
  
"I did want to say something like that. I have never been more glad to see anyone in my entire life, but at the same time I was so terrified that you had just killed yourself in a vain attempt to save me. Why did you do it Vaughn?" she questioned intently.  
  
"We'll get to that in a minute. First I want to hear about your dream," he said.  
  
"Mine only had one scene really. I mean, it had more but there was only one really clear moment when it was definitely us and not just Romeo and Juliet. Most of the time it was pretty hazy who was what and where and…"  
  
"Sydney. You're rambling."  
  
"Sorry. Anyway, there was just this one really clear scene, Act 1, scene 5… right at the end, when they each discover who the other is…"  
  
"My only love, sprung from my only hate…"  
  
"Too early seen unknown, and known too late," she finished. "That's always been one of my favorite lines, but it was actually even clearer when you found out. 'Is she a Capulet? O dear account, my life is my foe's debt.' So I asked a question yesterday and you wouldn't answer me. Will you now?"  
  
"You aren't crazy, you aren't the only one who sees this. We are most definitely star crossed, and…"  
  
"Are we lovers Vaughn?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.  
  
"Sydney."  
  
"Just answer me Vaughn… Michael…"  
  
Her use of his first name whittled away at his control. "This is dangerous, more than any counter mission I could send you on," he warned feebly.  
  
"If they do see thee, they will murder thee," she said with understanding.  
  
"I don't care what they do to me Sydney, it's what they would do to you that concerns me. Do you understand what this would mean? How much harder it would be to hide the fact that you're a double agent if you got involved with a CIA officer? And I know you wouldn't advertise our relationship to anyone, but SD-6 has a sneaky way of finding out things about you that you don't want them to know."  
  
"I know… our relationship will be far from normal. No dates."  
  
"No phone calls."  
  
"Except from Joey's Pizza—by the way, Francie is ready to kill the phone company.  
  
"I bet. No gifts."  
  
"No anything until we take down SD-6 and can be normal people again. I know Vaughn… but we'd have enough, we'd have each other."  
  
"You're sure then?" he asked tentatively, taking a step toward her.  
  
"I'm sure," she replied confidently, moving closer.  
  
Finally breaking down the walls of propriety and safety that had always separated them, he took her into his arms and gently brushed his lips against hers. His intent (if he really had one) was a short kiss, a brief moment to bind their promises to their hearts. But her quick indrawn breath and the way she leaned into him washed away any reserve he had and he allowed himself to simply feel… no thinking involved. He felt her lips under his, the way her soft hair felt against his hand as he placed it gently at the nape of her neck, the way she grabbed his arms as the kiss intensified. He relished the feeling of her tongue tracing the seam of his mouth, begging entrance. And as he opened his mouth to her, he felt her tongue slip against his in a motion that was at once as sweet as it was provocative.  
  
Gradually, he also felt the burning in his lungs that signaled a need for oxygen. Breaking the kiss, he held her as his ragged breathing mingled with hers. "You need to go, we've been here too long," he whispered in her ear.  
  
"I know," she sighed. Gently she pulled away from his embrace and said, "Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say good bye till it be morrow."  
  
Vaughn softly gave the answering lines. "Sleep dwell upon thine eyes, peace in thy breast. Would I were sleep and peace, so sweet to rest." Then a smile and she was gone.  
  
And so Vaughn was left to wonder if what had begun by dreams and now lived only in the half lit hours between dusk and dawn would ever see the light of day or if it would always have a dreamlike quality to it.  
  
  
  
********************************  
  
Romeo: Peace, peace Mercutio, peace!  
  
Thou talk'st of nothing!  
  
Mercutio: True, I talk of dreams;  
  
Which are the children of an idle brain,  
  
Begot of nothing but vain fantasy…  
  
Fin  
  
AN: I forgot to mention that the lines quoted in the prefaces and here at the end are from Act 1, scene 4. 


End file.
